@tessbridgeman.bsky.social
Co-editor-in-chief @justsecurity.org | NYU Law RCLS Sr. Fellow | Berkeley Law | Former National Security Council Deputy Legal Adviser, White House Associate Counsel & Special Assistant to the President (Obama) | Former State Department
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialWhat can state and local governments do to fight back against authoritarianism? How can they enforce the law when the federal gov't won't? What tools do they have to check federal overreach?
@rgoodlaw.bsky.social & I talked about these Qs and more with leading minds Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Huq:
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialMust read: @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social's indispensable reporting on the Military Commissions at #Guantanamo.
Her latest is on the 5th straight ruling (by 3 military judges) throwing out confessions taken by "clean teams" as essentially tainted by previous torture or coercion in CIA black sites👇
@justsecurity.orgReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.socialErwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Huq join co-hosts @rgoodlaw.bsky.social and @tessbridgeman.bsky.social to discuss what state and local governments can do to serve as a check against authoritarianism and federal overreach.
Watch the full episode of the Just Security Podcast below:
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialYou can find all of the #ReinventionBlueprints published so far here, and check back often for new installments:
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialOur latest Reinvention Blueprint is here!
Read Mary McCord's Blueprint on "Building Authorities for Domestic Use of the Military That Work"
Authorities on domestic deployment of the military are "outdated, vague, and subject to abuse" - Mary explains why & how to fix them 👇
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social2/ Current topics include:
- #Iran war
- Boat strikes (murder at sea campaign against suspected drug traffickers)
- #Immigration enforcement
- Intelligence & #surveillance
- #Venezuela's sovereign assets
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social1/NEW: Our latest Collection @justsecurity.org:
"Questions for Congress"
In a multi-crisis moment with competing demands, we're collecting key oversight questions for #Congress.
Authors may also include key documents to subpoena, witnesses to interview, etc.:
Check back often 👇
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialTrump at the UN on #Venezuela:
"To the victor belong the spoils"
"It was a war, but it's perhaps the biggest deal ever made”
Shameful. Hard work is ahead to unravel this & ensure it can't happen again.
Qs Congress needs to ask on US theft of Venezuela's assets (by @k8brannen.bsky.social & me):
@tessbridgeman.bsky.socialRead this thread by @rgoodlaw.bsky.social on the Special Rapporteur's conclusion: "reasonable grounds to believe" that the boat strikes "that killed 223 people constituted crimes against humanity of murder"
And then read our collection to understand why & what Congress can do about it 👇:
@rgoodlaw.bsky.socialReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.socialWith move of solidarity by press pool in response to Trump ban on MSNow, CNN, Politico ⬇️
An excellent analysis by @bechamilton.bsky.social in 2025:
The Imperative of Solidarity in Response to Assaults on Legal Services, Universities, and Independent Media
www.justsecurity.org/109439/colle...
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social3/ @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social brings unparalleled knowledge of the cases, the court, and the issues that have plagued it since its inception to her detailed reporting.
Check back often for her #GTMODispatches here at @justsecurity.org
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social2/ The #GTMODispatches are for you if you’re interested in:
- The rule of law
- Justice and finality for the victims of 9/11 & USS Cole bombing
- How the judges & lawyers handle defendants who were tortured by the US government
- How the military court - on a base in #Cuba - operates
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social1/ @rgoodlaw.bsky.social & I are honored to announce that veteran, multi-award winning reporter @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social will be publishing Dispatches from Guantanamo with us at @justsecurity.org –regular updates as the capital trials in the military commissions get underway.
@rgoodlaw.bsky.socialReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.social2/ Here's the proposal by Tess and me:
The Bipartisan Iran War Commission We Need
www.justsecurity.org/155561/bipar...
*With suggested organizational features, and unanswered questions/issues for a commission to address.
@rgoodlaw.bsky.socialReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.socialI appreciate this thoughtful engagement by The American Conservative's managing editor Jude Russo.
Overlapping agreement on the benefits of a bipartisan Iran War Commission that @tessbridgeman.bsky.social and I proposed.
@inequalitymedia.bsky.socialReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.socialTrump's massive surveillance state and attacks on our civil liberties wouldn't have been possible without the PATRIOT Act. Watch this prescient warning from Russ Feingold, the only Senator to vote against its passage after 9/11.
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social3/ As I wrote today, we can still choose to turn the page on this era. Crises, including America's rule of law crisis today, provide opportunities for change, but changing for the better is not an inevitable default. We the people have to work to create the new normal we want to inhabit:
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social2/ The collection includes deeply personal reflections and incisive analysis on how the 9/11 era shapes our current era Must reads: the powerful Afghan voices - Hanifa Girowal (women's rights advocate) - Farid Hamidi (former AG of Afghanistan) - Nasir A. Andisha (Afghan diplomat in Geneva)
@tessbridgeman.bsky.social1/ The 22 essays collected here @justsecurity.org are a powerful reminder of the gravity of what was lost on 9/11, the opportunities that followed, and the many ways those opportunities were squandered at home and abroad.
@rgoodlaw.bsky.socialReposted by @tessbridgeman.bsky.socialCo-editor-in-chief @tessbridgeman.bsky.social and I sat down with two of the finest experts - Ambassador Dan Fried @ambdanfried.bsky.social and Nick Rasmussen - to discuss 25th Anniversary of 9/11 and many lessons for today.
Dan was in the situation room on 9/11. Nick about to start his USG job.
